Socio-Economics & History Commentary

EU Rages At “Unacceptable” US Tariffs, Vows Retaliation “In Coming Hours”by Tyler Durden, https://www.zerohedge.com/Confirming expectations, Wilbur Ross announced the steel, aluminum tariffs exemptions were lifted on EU, Mexico, and Canada. This prompted angry responses from the head of the EU bloc’s executive Jean-Claude Juncker who said that the European Union will impose counter measures immediately.–“This is a bad day for world trade,” Juncker said in a speech in Brussels. “So we will immediately introduce a settlement dispute with the WTO and will announce counter balancing measures in the coming hours.”–
“It is totally unacceptable that a country is imposing unilateral measures when it comes to world trade.”
–Juncker also said that he is “concerned by this decision” which he defined as “protectionism, pure and simple.” The European head with a penchant for alcohol said that steel overcapacity remains at the heart of the problem, and “the EU is not the source of but on the contrary equally hurt by it”, clearly referencing China.–read more.

UN Envoy: Gaza Escalation a Warning That ‘Brink of War’ Nearby The Associated Press, https://www.nytimes.com/UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Mideast envoy told an emergency Security Council meeting Wednesday that the latest escalation in Gaza between its Hamas rulers and Israel is a warning of “how close to the brink of war we are every day.”–Nikolay Mladenov said the international community should “unequivocally condemn” Hamas’ massive attack against Israel using 216 rockets and mortars. Israel responded with 65 airstrikes on Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza. Mladenov called it the most serious escalation since the 2014 Israeli-Hamas conflict.–Hamas said earlier Wednesday it had agreed to a cease-fire, and Mladenov said that since 5 a.m. local time there have been no attacks by either side. “It is imperative that this period of calm be preserved at all costs,” he said. “No one in Gaza can afford another war. No one has the right to play with the lives of two million people who have lived through hell in the last decade.”–read more.

China to Host Iranian President Amid Nuclear Deal Doubtby REUTERS, MAY 28, 2018, via https://www.jpost.com/Major powers are scrambling to save Iran’s nuclear deal after the United States pulled out.BEIJING – China will host Iranian President Hassan Rouhani next month at a regional summit aimed at avoiding disruption of joint projects, its foreign ministry said on Monday, as major powers scramble to save Iran’s nuclear deal after the United States pulled out.–Rouhani will pay a working visit to China and attend the summit of the China and Russia-led security bloc the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the ministry said. It did not give exact dates for his visit, but the summit is scheduled to be held on the second weekend of June in the northern Chinese city of Qingdao.–Iran is currently an observer member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, though it has long sought full membership. “Our hope is that China and Iran will have close consultation on the basis of observing the deal and push forward development of bilateral cooperation,” Chinese deputy foreign minister Zhang Hanhui said at a briefing. “We should together look into how to avoid major disruption of joint projects between the two sides,” he added.–Russia has previously argued that with Western sanctions against Tehran lifted, it could finally become a member of the bloc which also includes four ex-Soviet Central Asian republics, Pakistan and India.–The 2015 agreement between Iran and world powers lifted international sanctions on Tehran. In return, Iran agreed to restrictions on its nuclear activities, increasing the time it would need to produce an atom bomb if it chose to do so.–read more.

RT AmericaPublished on May 30, 2018Another potential roadblock towards a summit between North Korea and the United States. A new CIA report says North Korea is not preparing to denuclearize anytime soon but might offer to open a hamburger chain. RT America’s Manila Chan reports.

–Under the deal, the payments for oil will be made through India’s state-run UCO Bank, which has no US exposure. The countries are also discussing the barter-like system to avoid US sanctions, Sputnik reports.–Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is on a visit to India this week, where he has met with Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj. “During the talks, the two sides also exchanged views on a further expansion of ties in banking, energy, trade, insurance, shipping, use of national currencies, Chabahar projects and Chabahar-Zahedan railway,” Zarif said in a statement.–India’s Swaraj said the country would ignore the US trade sanctions against Iran. “India will comply with UN sanctions and not any country-specific sanctions,” Swaraj said. Iran is India’s third-largest oil supplier. India bought a record 27.2 million tons of oil from Tehran during the last financial year, which ended in March 2018. It represents a 114 percent increase on the previous year.–read more.

Mattis: US Will Confront China With “Steady Drumbeat” Of American Ships Over Weaponized Islandsby Tyler Durden, https://www.zerohedge.com/U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis vowed on Tuesday that American ships will continue to confront China over its militarization of man-made islands in the South China Sea, where Beijing has established an extensive military presence despite its promise not to do so.–Mattis said that U.S. forces are maintaining a “steady drumbeat” of naval operations around the disputed Spratly islands, adding that “only one country” seems to be bothered by the maneuvers.–“We are going out of our way to cooperate with Pacific nations, that’s the way we do business in the world,” Mattis told reporters. “But we are also going to confront what we believe is out of step with international law, out of step with international tribunals that have spoken on the issue.”–Mattis’s comments follow Beijing voicing “strong dissatisfaction” on Sunday after two US warships sailed past the Paracel Islands, which lie north of the Spratlys.–read more.

On The Brink: Israel Warns That The “Threshold Of War” Will Be Crossed If Hamas Doesn’t Stop Firing Rocketsby Michael Snyder, http://endoftheamericandream.com/Over the past 24 hours, Hamas and Islamic Jihad have fired approximately 70 rockets and mortars into Israel, and the IDF has responded by conducting at least 60 airstrikes in Gaza. Even as I write this article, there are reports that the fighting has continued all through the night. If the hostilities continue, we could very well see a full blown war erupt, and such a war could ultimately draw in the Palestinians in the West Bank, Hezbollah and more of Israel’s neighbors as well. To say that things are tense in the region would be a major understatement. On Tuesday, it was reported that there was a full moon over Jerusalem that was “almost red”, and some are taking that as an ominous sign. This is also the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, and that certainly adds an extra dimension to the events that are unfolding right in front of our eyes. This is the worst violence that we have seen between the Israelis and Hamas since 2014, and many are extremely concerned about what we may see next.–read more.

Published on Nov 19, 2012TRUTH TALK NEWS host Howard Nema covers the rising conflict in Gaza and exposes the truth about Hamas, that was created by the Israeli Mossad to counter Yasir Arafat resulting in decades of “blowback” also known as false flag terror.

Israel Denies Hamas Claims of Ceasefire Amid Largest Spike in Tensions in Yearsby https://sputniknews.com/, 30 May 2018This latest exchange of fire between Israel and Hamas has been the largest since 2014. Previously, Hamas’s deputy chief in Gaza Khalil al-Hayya stated that “a number of mediators intervened in the past hours and an agreement was reached to return to a ceasefire in Gaza.”–The reports about the termination of the fire exchange have also started to appear in the Arabian media, such as Al Jazeera. However, the information contradicts the statement by Israeli Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz, who denied ceasefire claims by Hamas.–“Israel does not want the situation to deteriorate, but those who started the violence must stop it,” he said.–According to the IDF Home Front Command, in last 22 hours, sirens were triggered at least 166 times in southern Israel. –“If the launches are renewed, the attacks against Hamas will be intensified,” the official said, as quoted by the Times of Israel.–read more.

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This article does not tell the whole story! Hamas was and still is a tool of the Mossad! Click on image for article!

PressTV Published on May 28, 2018The EU ministers have met to see how they can salvage the Iran nuclear deal. The EU foreign policy chief says that the EU is working on a set of measures to make sure that the nuclear agreement is preserved and the economic investments from the European side but also from other sides in the world are protected. But is the European Union doing enough? Why didn’t the EU try to get Iran’s its fair share from the deal while the US was in the deal? Just a couple of questions we’ll be asking in this edition of the debate.

RT America Published on May 30, 2018Top North Korean officials arrived in New York on Wednesday for a high level meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Meanwhile, CIA report says that there is no reason to believe North Korea intends to denuclearize and there is no guarantee the summit will work. For more on this, the national director of Answer Coalition Brian Becker joins RT America’s Ed Schultz.

PressTV Published on May 29, 2018China says it is ready to retaliate possible measures by the United States to impose restrictions on investment by Chinese companies. China’s Commerce Ministry says it’s surprised and sees it as contrary to the recent consensus both sides reached on resolving their trade row. It says Beijing has the confidence, ability, and experience to safeguard its core interests. On Tuesday, the U-S said it would continue pursuing action on trade with China, days after Washington and Beijing suggested that tensions had eased. Washington says it would also continue to pursue a legal case it has filed against Beijing at the World Trade Organization regarding intellectual property rights. The United States plans to impose a 25-percent tariff on a number of Chinese goods.